Nancy K Dillon

BORN: Oklahoma City

RESIDES: Seattle

PLAYING SINCE: Always

"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." ~ Leonard Cohen
"Time is Art." ~ Jose Arguelles

Bio

On her newest recording, “A Game of Swans,” Dillon hearkens back to her ancestral roots in Ireland, Scotland and England. Like her forebears, her gaze is firmly forward as she listens to dreams, makes plans and watches for signs leading into a new future. The 12 tracks on “A Game of Swans” reveal haunting strains of Celtic folk culture migrated to America, strains that have always flowed just beneath the surface of Dillon’s music.
“A Game of Swans” contains 10 originals and collaborations as well as Nancy’s version of songs by Drew Nelson/Janni Littlepage and Pat Long. The stories related on “A Game of Swans” draw characters from lost gold mines, haunted pioneer cabins, railroad hobos and immigrants’ prayers for Civil War last chances. Simpatico musical support from uber-talented friends in America, Britain and Scotland color this new project with the perfect tones.
Inspired by the varied migratory paths taken by both her Georgia Loyalist and Scots-Irish Presbyterian forebears as they aimed towards better futures, Dillon herself took flight from her beloved home state of Oklahoma into the vast American West. Settling in the verdant beauty of the Pacific Northwest allows for road trips that still the mind and feed the imagination.
As a patchwork quilt holds pastel memories of summer dreams and dresses, Dillon’s song-catcher sensibilities capture ephemera of the American story. Have a listen….hearken back….and lean forward.

Photos

Photo by Ron Dalton

"A Game of Swans" CD ~ Official Release Date: January 20, 2018

Photo by Wayne Buck

Photo by Ron Dalton

7 Questions

1: What artist would you most love to work with?

A toss-up between Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen (with a nod to Bob a) because he's still with us and b) because my musician father's name was Bob Dillon.

2: What instrument brings you the most joy?

Singing brings the most joy....and healing.

3: What was the worst advice?

"Don't pursue music as a career. You'll never be able to make any $$." ~ Dr. Robert M. Dillon (aka my dad)

4: What was your first concert?

Jimmy Webb ~ Oklahoma Baptist University ~ Shawnee, Oklahoma ~ Spring 1968
I had an enormous crush on him and I still have my program from that concert. A couple of years back I went to see him perform in Seattle at Jazz Alley. Not only did we share a moment during his performance reminiscing about Oklahoma City's KOMA Radio which was a massive force at the time, after the show he signed my program...."Love, Jimmy". My teenager self was over the moon !

5: What/where is the best road food?

Tough one....but I'd vote for Texas and Tennessee.

6: What’s the best music advice you ever got?

Follow your heart.

7: Who is your most surprising inspiration?

Hip-Hop & Rap: More 'what' than 'who' but along with the poetry I can hear old railroad songs in there at times.